Memories of Mom

I have a wonderful Mother. She has always been a tremendous inspiration to me. Beautiful inside and out.  I have been blessed to have her as a part of my life.   There is not a day that goes by that she is not in my thoughts.  She continues to live on in my memories and I know that she will always be by my side.

My mother was a tremendous role model and she taught me and my sister to be considerate and to care about other people and things.  She taught us to have empathy and reach out and help other people who were hurting or suffering. It gave her joy to make people happy and give them gifts to let them know that she was thinking about them.  She would always put the needs of others above her own.   My heart is breaking and I miss her terribly.

I remember when the movie, Grease, came out in 1978. I was really excited to see it and Mom and I went to the Beacon Theater on Main Street in Port Washington, NY. I really liked all the music, and I thought John Travolta was really cute. But Mom was a little upset at the ending, she didn't like how "Sandy" changed for Danny. She told me to never change who I was to please a boy. That I should always be confident enough in myself, sound advice to an impressionable 13 year old girl, love you Mom!

I remember how when I wanted to host a gathering before the Gambol (my senior year prom) during my senior year of Schreiber High School that Mom offered to let me host a party at our home. This is what lasting memories are made of. Thank you Mom, you are the best, for always thinking of your daughters first and supporting them in any way that you could.

I was driving in the car with my daughter the other day and the song "Everything She Wants" - George Michael circa 1984 came on the radio. I remembered a conversation I had with Mom during my teenage years after she had heard this song. She hoped that what I would value most in life are the things that a person could never place a dollar value on and which have true meaning, love, friendship, and family. Possessing more material things won't bring us happiness, and if anything, may even drive a wedge between us and the people that we love.  And Mom, you were so right as you always were, truer words could never have been spoken.  Thank you for always setting me straight and reminding me to contemplate the consequences of my actions.  "All the things we sign and the things we buy.  Ain't gonna keep us together, girl it's just a matter of time."

I was the baby in the family. She helped bring this shy little girl out of her shell.  It was Mom who gave me the confidence to believe in myself and know that anything is possible with a little hard work and determination.  Her support never wavered.  She consoled me after one too many broken hearts and offered a shoulder to cry on whenever I was feeling blue.  I have caught myself in the last month picking up the phone to call Mom, as she is always the first person I would call whenever I had good news to share.

The world is not the same without you, Mom. Forever in my heart and in my soul.